Mark Fisher
English writer and theorist who coined capitalist realism.
He initially achieved acclaim for his blogging as k-punk in the early 2000s, and was known for his writing on radical politics, music, and popular culture.
- field
- Writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, teacher
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Blogging as k-punk; concept of capitalist realism; writing on hauntology, depression, and popular culture
Lore & Background
Fisher was born in Leicester and grew up in Loughborough to working-class, conservative parents. His father was an engineering technician and his mother a cleaner. He attended a local comprehensive school and was formatively influenced by the post-punk music press of the late 1970s, particularly papers like the NME which crossed music with politics, film, and fiction. He was also influenced by the relationship between working class culture and football, being present at the Hillsborough disaster. Fisher earned a B.A. There, he befriended and influenced producer Kode9 who later began the Hyperdub record label.
Reader's Guide
Mark Fisher's significance lies in his popularization of the term 'capitalist realism' to describe the widespread sense that capitalism is the only viable political and economic system and that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it.
Did You Know?
- Fisher was present at the Hillsborough disaster.
- He co-founded the message board Dissensus with Matt Ingram.
- His PhD thesis was titled Flatline Constructs: Gothic Materialism and Cybernetic Theory-Fiction.
- He made music as part of the breakbeat hardcore group D-Generation in the early 1990s.
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